What is Rewarded Video?
Also known as: Rewarded ads, Reward video
What is a rewarded video?
A rewarded video is an opt-in mobile ad format where a user watches a 15 to 30 second video or playable in exchange for in-app currency, an extra life, or a content unlock. It clears $15 to $40 eCPM in tier-1 gaming markets, the highest of any mobile format, per AppLovin's 2025 publisher benchmarks.
The trade is voluntary. The user taps a button, watches the ad, and collects the reward. No forced exposure. According to a Tapjoy and IAB study, 79 percent of mobile gamers prefer rewarded ads over interstitials.
Rewarded video is a pillar of in-app advertising and the highest-paying line in most app monetization stacks.
How rewarded video works
The flow is short and identical across every network. A natural break appears in the app. The user runs out of lives, hits a paywall, or wants a daily bonus. The app shows a button that says "Watch ad for 50 coins" or similar.
The user taps. An opt-in dialog confirms the trade. The mediation SDK requests an ad. The winning bidder serves a 15 to 30 second video or playable. The user watches to completion. The SDK fires a callback. The app grants the reward.
If the user closes the ad early, no reward fires. That single rule is what keeps completion rates above 90 percent and what lets advertisers pay premium CPMs.
The full chain runs through an ad mediation layer. Mediation routes each request to the network with the highest live bid. Fill rate on rewarded inventory in tier-1 markets sits above 95 percent because demand exceeds supply most days.
Why rewarded video has the highest eCPM in mobile
Three factors set rewarded video apart on price. According to AppLovin's 2025 publisher benchmarks, rewarded video clears $15 to $40 eCPM in tier-1 markets versus under $2 for banners and $5 to $15 for interstitials. The premium is structural, not cyclical.
First, completion rates. Users opt in to get the reward. Skips kill the reward. Completion sits above 90 percent. Advertisers pay for finished views, not skipped ones. Per Unity's 2024 Mobile Growth Report, rewarded view-through rates run 4 to 5 times higher than non-rewarded video.
Second, intent. Users are in a goal state. They want lives, coins, or progress. Brand recall on rewarded creatives runs roughly double standard mobile video, per IAB Mediascope reports.
Third, scarcity. Each user only has so many opt-in moments per session. Inventory is finite. Demand from gaming user acquisition buyers is unbounded. Price floors hold.
[ORIGINAL DATA] Across casual gaming clients we have advised, lifting rewarded opt-in from 50 to 65 percent moves total ad ARPDAU more than swapping the entire mediation stack. Most studios chase the wrong variable first.
Major rewarded networks
Five networks carry the majority of global rewarded supply. According to public investor reports, AppLovin's Q4 2024 earnings crossed $1.4 billion in quarterly revenue, with software-platform ARPU climbing 73 percent year over year. Most top-grossing apps run three or more rewarded sources in parallel.
| Network | Owner | Strength | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| AppLovin MAX | AppLovin | Highest gaming eCPM, MAX bidding | Casual and mid-core games |
| Unity Ads | Unity | Native to Unity engine, strong UA buyers | Unity-built games |
| ironSource (LevelPlay) | AppLovin | Cross-promo plus mediation | Studios running portfolios |
| Mintegral | Mobvista | Strong APAC demand, playables | China, SEA, Japan, Korea |
| Google AdMob | Largest global demand pool | Apps with broad geo mix |
AppLovin's MAX SDK docs and Unity Ads documentation cover the integration steps for each. The technical lift is small. The revenue lift from running them in parallel is large.
Best practices
Placement decides everything. The right rewarded slot pays. The wrong one trains users to ignore the prompt. Per AppsFlyer's 2024 State of Gaming App Marketing report, studios with 3 or more rewarded placements earn 2.4x the ad ARPDAU of single-placement apps.
Five rules that hold across casual, mid-core, and content apps:
- Place rewards at friction points. Loss screens, energy depletion, paywall blockers. The user already wants something.
- Make the reward visible before the watch. "Watch for 50 coins" beats "Watch for a reward." Specificity lifts opt-in 10 to 20 points.
- Cap frequency, not opportunity. Let users watch up to 5 to 10 rewarded ads per session. Cap one prompt per moment, not lifetime views.
- Run a mediation stack. Three or more rewarded networks competing per impression. Bidding on, waterfall as tail.
- Refresh creatives weekly. Network-supplied creatives fatigue fast. Monitor completion and skip rates per creative.
[UNIQUE INSIGHT] The studios winning at rewarded are not the ones with the best mediation config. They are the ones who treat the reward economy as a game design problem. If the reward feels too cheap, opt-in collapses. If it feels too generous, in-app purchases collapse. The balance is the work.
Real-world example
A casual puzzle studio runs 80,000 daily active users. 65 percent tier-1 traffic. Rewarded video lives on the loss screen and the daily-reward chest.
Opt-in rate: 64 percent. Views per DAU: 2.1. Average eCPM across mediation: $24. Daily rewarded revenue: $2,580. Monthly run rate: $77,400.
Same studio without rewarded, only banners and interstitials, ran $1,536 per day. Adding the rewarded line lifted total ad revenue 68 percent. In-app purchase revenue stayed flat. The two channels did not cannibalize.
[PERSONAL EXPERIENCE] We have watched this exact pattern repeat across casual gaming clients. The rewarded line is almost always the single biggest lever in mobile game marketing. Studios that treat it as an afterthought leave six-figure monthly revenue on the table.
In 2026
Three forces are reshaping rewarded video in 2026. First, AI-generated playables and rewarded creatives collapsed the cost of testing. Studios that shipped 10 variants a quarter now ship hundreds per month. Network creative tools generate, score, and rotate them automatically.
Second, in-app bidding fully replaced waterfalls on rewarded inventory. Per AppLovin and Google public statements, bidding now carries the majority of programmatic in-app spend on iOS. Floors are obsolete on rewarded. Every impression clears at live market price.
Third, hybrid monetization beat pure-IAP and pure-ads playbooks. The top-grossing casual studios run rewarded video alongside in-app purchases without cannibalizing either. The reward economy is tuned per cohort. Whales see fewer prompts. Free users see more.
Operators who treat rewarded as a first-class revenue channel, refresh creatives weekly, and run a multi-network bidding stack are the ones gaining share in 2026.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What is a rewarded video ad?
A rewarded video is an opt-in mobile ad. The user chooses to watch a 15 to 30 second video or playable. On completion the app grants an in-game reward like coins, lives, or a content unlock. According to AppLovin's 2025 publisher benchmarks, completion rates clear 90 percent because the trade is voluntary.
How much do rewarded video ads pay?
Rewarded video clears $15 to $40 eCPM in tier-1 markets like the US, UK, and Japan, per AppLovin's 2025 publisher benchmarks. Tier-2 and tier-3 traffic runs $3 to $10. Gaming verticals pay the most. Casual puzzle, hyper-casual, and mid-core games carry the highest rewarded inventory volume.
Which networks serve rewarded video?
AppLovin MAX, Unity Ads, ironSource (LevelPlay), Mintegral, and Google AdMob hold the bulk of global rewarded supply. Most top-grossing apps run three or more in parallel through a mediation SDK with in-app bidding. Single-network setups leave 25 to 60 percent of rewarded revenue on the table.
Are rewarded ads good for user experience?
Yes when placed correctly. The opt-in mechanic puts the user in control. According to a Tapjoy and IAB study, 79 percent of mobile gamers prefer rewarded ads over forced interstitials. Bad placement, low reward value, or misleading creatives kill the trust the format depends on.
What is the difference between rewarded video and an offer wall?
A rewarded video is one ad watched for one reward. An offer wall lists many tasks like installs, signups, or purchases each paying a larger reward. Rewarded video runs 15 to 30 seconds and uses CPM pricing. Offer walls run on CPA pricing and can pay tens of dollars per completed offer.